What do the New and Old Testaments of the Bible tell us about drinking alcohol? Michael Morris is as witty and informative as ever at Funmentionables.
What does the Bible say about drinking?
- Post author:Erich Vieth
- Post published:March 30, 2012
- Post category:Humor / Religion
- Post comments:7 Comments
Erich Vieth
Erich Vieth is an attorney focusing on civil rights (including First Amendment), consumer law litigation and appellate practice. At this website often writes about censorship, corporate news media corruption and cognitive science. He is also a working musician, artist and a writer, having founded Dangerous Intersection in 2006. Erich lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his two daughters.
Wow, I was just thinking about this on my morning walk, because I’m getting ready to move to a new place where my landlords are devout Christians — and I like to brew beer. Thanks for helping me organize my scripture references!
Good luck, Chip. I like to savor the moment whenever anyone finds a practical use for the information on this website. Good luck with your brewing. Maybe you can tell the landlord that there was a mistranslation in the Bible, and that it was beer that was served on the night of the Last Supper, not wine. Or catch him alone sometime and offer to give him a bit of free beer once in a while. I hope one of these things works.
Not to brag too much, but if he tasted my Chocolate Porter he would have to admit that if there is a God, that is his beer. I might give that a shot. Thanks, Erich.
alcohol and drinking are all over the Bible, with no specific prohibitions that I know of, other than that being drunk will not serve as an excuse if you sin.
I notice that a lot of conservative Christians define Christian morality in terms of Victorian values rather than what early Christians actually believed or wrote. And likewise, liberal Christians tend to define Christian morality in terms of what the mainstream morality of the day is. Which kinda defeats the purpose of being a Christian if you’re just going to be like nonbelievers. Maybe I’m just thinking too much like a Jew here. God gave some of his Commandments not as a universal kind of morality, but as a way to make his people holy, to set them apart. Seems kinda weird to be a christian but just believe everything everyone else believes about morality.
Adam,
Anyone that tries to make any religion into liberal and conservative versions has really got to expect that such a bipolar division serves only to add more confusion to the morality of any so called “religious” culture. That would pertain to anything from Christians or Jews or even to naturalistic humanists for that matter.
Various people with various “religious” backgrounds have had differing points of view about drinking alcohol.
Bottom line followers of Christ don’t care a great deal about what you specifically shouldn’t be doing. People all over the world have differing degrees of failure over differing thoughts, actions and behaviors in this regard. It’s the role of the civil authorities to regulate people’s outward declarations and behaviors regarding matters that are illegal in a specific culture.
What a bottom line Christian does care about is that when we see more and more people throwing off any restraint and respect for the morality that the previous generation(s) held as lofty ideals, what they have left is a crumbling foundation that could indeed result in a survival of the people with the most corrupting affiliations.
That is unless another more financially able, morally principled group comes along or worse until a better militarily disciplined people decide to lower the boom on the chaos they see in the unrest of the people being divided into sheep and goats.
Any kinds of drugs or strong alcoholic drinks, or multiple weaker alcoholic beverages that result in the lack of a person being consciously unaware of their behavior is probably the primary reason why people lose more and more respect for morality of one sort or another because they lose more and more respect for themselves.
I would venture to say that most people that lose respect for their parents morality, do so over a few rounds with their drinking buddies and babes.
I’m sure many people reading this didn’t want to hear that, but it’s what the Bible does say about alcoholic drinks – they are mockers and agents that lead to quarrels and fights.
Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
– TNIV
After reading that, I think I need a drink.
Cheers!
That is what many say about alcohol.
It does at least temporarily cheer you up and get your mind off of the “sober” realities in ones life.